COPE MP Mosiuoa Lekota used his time during the SONA Debate to focus on land expropriation without compensation. The EFF was not at all happy with the questions he was asking.

The land issue in South Africa has been continuously simmering below the mainstream surface since the dawn of democracy. Over the last few years, though, that simmer has turned into a boil that continues to rise. At the 2018 SONA debate, one speech on the issue caused quite a division in Parliament.

Since December 2017, the ANC has decided to make expropriation without compensation officially part of their party policy. This new stance is matched by the EFF who have called for that methodology to be implemented for years.

While the DA is against the “without compensation” approach, the biggest surprise came from COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota. Trust us, his speech really did get the nation talking.

“You must tell us who are you going to take the land from? Are you going to take the properties of people who arrived here as slaves from the Malay peninsula? Whose properties are going to be taken?”

“You say you’re going to give the land to ‘our people’. Who are ‘our people’ and who is not ‘our people?’ This constitution says all of us are South Africans and we all have the same rights.”

The EFF took huge offence to these questions as Mbuyiseni Ndlozi jumped up and asked Lekota to recommend a better way to deal with the land issue then. Lekota was also asked what he went to Robben Island for if he doesn’t see the need for land to be handed over.

You can watch the speech in full below as well as see the split reaction on social media.

Once Lekota’s time at the podium was up, the reaction on social media showed just how divisive the land issue is for the country.

Ntate LEKOTA is indeed one of my favourite politicians. He is a proud South African who stands for all the people of our country. I’m honoured to serve with him in the opposition pic.twitter.com/l7Qs4bEl7T

I never realized it was a competition, but I thought the #lekota from #COPE asked some questions that nobody seems to be able to answer…. Who is your people?Who is not your people? Who you going to take property from? Who you going to give the property? Interesting…

If it was up to #Lekota and #Mmusi, black people would stay landless. I'm ashamed to be sharing the same skin colour as those two. Black people need to wake up and see those two for who they really are. They're what Malcom X called House Negros #SoNADebate

@CyrilRamaphosa@MTLekota asked a good question. People have no direction with regards to property. The construction sector is down as a result of indecisiveness and land claims. I don’t want to put money in an asset that can be taken away anytime. #Lekota#pandor